Tag Archives: joe McKinney

My friend S.G. Browne— author of Breathers, one of the seminal works of zombie romance– asked me to participate in this viral blog questionnaire called The Next Big Thing in which authors write about ongoing creative projects. It feels like I just turned in the final edits to Zombie, Illinois (even though it was a few months ago) and I’ve only just started plotting and outlining my next novel. Even so, I’m totally going to try to answer the questions below.

The Next Big Thing: SUMMER OF BLOOD

Where did the idea come from for the book?
Riding my bike along State Street south of 35th on the south side of Chicago.

What genre does your book fall under?Supernatural horror

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie
rendition?

My three main characters might fairly be played by Seth Gilliam from The Wire, Jeff Hephner from Boss, and Dania Ramirez from Entourage.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A policeman with the unusual job responsibility of minimizing the media impact of crimes on the south side of Chicago unearths an ancient supernatural mystery that cannot be concealed.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Asking this question cheapens both of us…

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’m still working on an outline. You can’t rush these things…

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Ken Follett meets Peter Straub. If they wrote a book together. That.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Locations on the south side of Chicago where housing projects have been demolished.

Last week, I attended my first HWA Stoker Weekend. It was in Uniondale, Long Island. There were panels, workshops, fun surprises, merch for sale, and, of course, the presentation of the Bram Stoker Awards. Here are some photos:

My zombie panel! Left to right are Joe McKinney, Jonathan Maberry, S.G. Browne, Roger Ma, and me.Peter Straub accepting the Stoker for best novel.A standing O for Ellen Datlow.My favorite talk of the event-- an interview with the editor emeritus of Fangoria Magazine.

I really enjoyed meeting all the horror writers whom I only knew through email/Facebook, and also being introduced to new people who really give a damn about horror and horror writing.

My favorite moment of the entire weekend was probably when Stephen King won the Stoker for best short story collection (for Full Dark, No Stars), and his son, the writer Joe Hill, came up to the podium to accept. Joe looked out into the audience and said: “My dad couldn’t make it here tonight, but he said to say. . . you’re all a pack of sick fucks.”